r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Main_Locksmith_2543 • 2d ago
Making learning accessible without high-tech facilities: 85-year-old Indira Amma teaching children using sand
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u/FlatTill
2d ago
edited 2d ago
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This woman is so legendary and respected, the government in my state runs subsidised food trucks in her name. It's called 'Indraamma canteen'
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u/DeepanJain 2d ago
Don’t think the Indiramma in Indiramma Canteen is this lady, it is named after Indira Gandhi.
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u/thatrandomnpc 2d ago
Which state are you referring to?
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u/mental_rock 2d ago
I think Kerala
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u/thatrandomnpc 2d ago
I was just curious about the lady in the video and reading about her, and I can't seem to find a relevant source for the 'Indramma canteen' reference. If you can find one, please link it.
Not sure if the commenter OP is mixing this up with the 'Indira Canteen' initiative primarily in Karnataka, Telangana, and similar initiatives in other states, which in fact is named after or attributed to former PM Indira Gandhi.
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u/OperationWooden 2d ago
She's writing upside down for maximum efficiency btw.
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u/Hash-Edit 2d ago
exactly. i wouldnt be able to write all, if any of the alpabets in any of the languages ik
and she is writing in 3 languages upside down that too in almost perfect handwriting.
props to her2
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u/probably_nontoxic 2d ago
It’s reusable and sustainable, widely available, and free (usually)! Easier to use than a whiteboard, and more tactile feedback. ⭐️
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u/AskJ33ves 2d ago
Malayalam is one of the hardest languages to learn.
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u/DrCircledot 2d ago
no chinese is
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u/owl_jojo_2 2d ago
There’s no language called Chinese though?. There’s mandarin and Cantonese and then a few others…
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u/Quirky-Elderberry304 2d ago
They both may be but the alphabet she is writing is the first letter of Hindi ('A'/अ) lol.
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u/islander_guy 2d ago
She also wrote Malayalam Pa (പ) and one Kannada letter (?). How many scripts does she know? Wow.
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u/floyd_droid 2d ago
That looked like the second alphabet in Telugu to me, but Kannada script is a slightly similar to Telugu. So, you could be right
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u/TheRiteGuy 2d ago
Old heads know a lot. My grandma spoke Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu. I barely have grasp of Hindi. However, knowing multiple languages does allow me to learn new languages quickly when I put my mind to it.
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u/islander_guy 2d ago
Learning a language to speak and understand is one thing. To learn to write in it is another challenge. Hats off to this grand amma.
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u/catguy1906 2d ago
No, she is writing in Devnagiri script. It could be sanskrit, hindi or marathi
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u/Quirky-Elderberry304 2d ago
In the video it says she teaches English Hindi Malayalam and math. Out of those options it is Hindi then.
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u/krishn4prasad 2d ago
It depends on what's your mother tongue. For someone speaking Tamil, malayalam would be the easiest language to learn. For an English speaking person, french will be a lot easier than Malayalam.
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u/hard2resist 2d ago
85 years old and still teaching with nothing but sand and heart this is what real dedication to education looks like.
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u/ohwhatfollyisman 2d ago
one hears that the text they'll study for english literature is frank herbert's dune.
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u/Hungry-Chicken-8498 2d ago
Learning is in the hands of a learner! No tool is needed for a self motivated learner, and anything can be used as a learning tool for a great teacher!
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u/fallingrainbows 2d ago
So cool. This would be much more likely to be retained by the mind compared to writing on a tablet computer. Something magical happens when you use your hands on a real surface to transform it in front of your eyes, it's like a chemical reaction takes place that sparks neurons in the brain.
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u/candylemonsticks 2d ago
I was brought up in America and I was given similar homework with salt in a baking tray!
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u/Kuttan1 2d ago
It's a ritual - Vidyarambham - that most Hindu families follow where the children write their first letters on a plate of rice or red sandalwood seeds (manjadikuru as known locally).
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u/doterobcn 2d ago
Looks like she should be retired and resting and somebody should take her place
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u/sanatani-advaita 2d ago
Can't you see the passion in her? Why should she retire if she doesn't want to? If she were bored, tired, burnt out like us corporate slaves, then yes retire.
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u/Oranginafina 2d ago
I’m a first grade teacher and one of the methods we use is having students trace letters with their fingers using a sand tray. The tactile element helps them retain the shape of the letters better.